Allentown Mayoral Candidate Won't Give Up

The primary election is supposed to winnow the field for public office, but in the case of the Allentown mayor's race this year, it just fortified the desires of the losing candidates.

Former Allentown Councilman and perennial mayoral candidate Alton W. "Tony" Frey Jr., who finished third in the Republican primary this year, announced Tuesday that he will run a write-in campaign for the city's top job.

He joins Councilwoman Emma Tropiano, who has vowed a write-in campaign if the state Supreme Court upholds her one-vote primary loss to Democrat Martin Velazquez III.

Lehigh County Commissioner Martha E. Falk, who finished a distant third in the Democratic primary, also is considering her own write-in campaign.

Republican Councilman David K. Bausch, who finished less than 250 votes behind incumbent Mayor William L. Heydt in the primary, said he will not run a write-in race.

Frey announced his campaign in an advertisement in The Morning Call, promising to cut taxes. The ad referred to a published apology to former supporters he believes were alienated by statements made during his council career. It also included an endorsement from his doctor, who pronounced him physically capable of handling the job.

Frey, a former school director and four-term councilman, blames his 1995 council loss on coronary health problems that forced him to curtail his campaigning.

He got 573 votes in the May 20 primary.

"I think Heydt is very unpopular," Frey said Tuesday in a telephone interview. "He didn't get a mandate when he ran."

Asked about Velazquez, a first-term councilman, Frey said he didn't think the city was ready for a 37- or 38-year-old mayor. Velazquez is 39. Frey said Velazquez would have to pull out a solid Hispanic vote to beat Heydt.

Tropiano, he said, lost a lot of her traditional support because of her problems with unpaid taxes and code enforcement citations issued against her rental properties earlier this year.

Velazquez's victory in the May primary was confirmed by Lehigh County Judge James Diefenderfer after a recount, but Tropiano appealed to Commonwealth Court, claiming her rights were not fully protected.

The case was referred to the state Supreme Court, which has yet to act.

Joe Heydt, campaign manager for his father's race, said Frey's candidacy won't change their plans or strategy. Velazquez, as the Democratic nominee, will be the focus, he said.

Velazquez said he wants voters to choose based on candidate qualifications and achievements, not age.

Lehigh County Election Board Chief Clerk Betty Hillwig said the Nov. 4 ballot will be sent to the printer on Sept. 15 with Velazquez's name on it if there is no ruling on Tropiano's appeal.